Wild Strawberries by Ingmar Bergman is a film that discusses some of the hardships aging men go through, but with a twist. They use themes of mystery to portray symbolism with the most profound gestures. We see our protagonist have a wild nightmare about aging and death. With this, we are given quite the wild introduction to Isak Borg, who is a retired doctor.  Given this information, we see, Isak transition from the working class into the retired life as he travels all over Sweden. Isak starts to see symbolic items, relatable to the same-old Wild Strawberries. It’s interesting, how the movie is literally about wild strawberries. He starts to get flashbacks into his past life, where we are introduced to his mother. The audience learns, that his mother was not the most friendly person. But, why does he vision her so positively? We humans find it hard to ever envision our mothers that way. Some humans would forget all the negative if only to remember the positive. Aside from the point, Isak isn’t the most friendly person to his family members. At some points, this movie reminds me of The Christmas Carol, a film with the same narrative.

Reviews are wide and beyond, as some would argue that the story is in fact about the director’s life. That in fact, the film could only be a movie, with the intent to be a movie. However, “Dreams, Remembering, and Anti-Symbolism in Ingmar Bergman’s WILD STRAWBERRIES” by Nathaniel Sexton argues that Sexton enhances my opinion more by saying that the entire film is a reflection on Bergman’s life. Sexton writes that “For Bergman, remembering was as vivid as the movies.. (Sexton, p.7)” Simply put, the description of your own life transcribed into cinema, is potential for a legacy. So, this argument is only valid with its own thought process. However, it’s also right to question his argument by saying, that Bergman modeled life after his vision. And, simply adding that life may have been modeled after an expectation. Bergman drew aspects of aging men, from their present life.

Other sources, like “Ingmar Bergman: Wild Strawberries” by. Derek Malcolm argues that situations can slowly become atrophied and sterile, which is, “often repeated from generation to generation. (Malcolm, p. 9)” They kind of make the assumption from the movie, that life is bland and will never “brighten” up. This is so preposterous to arguments that life is the best once you get to live freely. This is validated by the fact that when people do get rid of heavy stressors, then they are able to live freely. So, within the movie, Borg is able to live freely, once he realizes the big stressors in his life.

The nightmare sequence jumpstarted the entire movie as it showed the turnaround of the aging men. Our protagonist can be seen standing on the side of a barren street. Nobody is on the road, and Borg is standing underneath a lamppost, but the hands of the clock are nowhere to be seen. To add, there’s a pair of eyes under the clock, that represent father time. I always viewed this scene as a huge example of symbolism within the film, because of the way it’s portrayed. From a psychological standpoint, people’s dreams reflect their life aspects. Dreams reflect how someone can change their life or keep their life simple.

The time of events during the time of Wild Strawberries airing is a time before the American involvement in the Vietnam War, and the Cold War. The Space Race occurred in 1957, which was between America, and Russia. Some huge acknowledgments reflect the Space Race, and how America was one of the first countries to launch the first US Satelite Explorer. Which was magnificent into a new development towards the Space Race. This type of thing was a shock to Russia, as well as a huge motivation for Russia. Also, this was a time when Civil Rights issues were prevalent in America. Little Rock Nine took place during the 50’s. It was a monumental moment in American history. Little Rock Nine was the desegregation of schools, and instead integrating schools to fit other students. These students, that formed Little Rock Nine, was Carlotta Walls, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Gloria Ray, Minnijean Brown, Terrence Roberts, Melba Patillo, Thelma Mothers, and Jefferson Thomas.

(Little Rock Nine)

At the time of this film coming out, people were a little speculatory. However, some people would argue that Ingmar Bergman is iconic in the film industry. Others would simply argue that the film is afoot in the ground, with the ideals of reaching the American Film Industry. I mean, the film is Swedish, so it would be ignorant to assume that the film didn’t reach American cinema. The film showed lots of mystery and thriller, that showed itself through its symbolism. I cannot push enough, how important symbolism is in film. The popularity of Oscar-Nominated films has some clarity of Symbolism. This film is beautiful, because it’s a mild psychological thriller, and it really enunciates how powerful the mind has on reality. This theory is backed by the scenes in this movie where Borg flips back to his childhood. The Wild Strawberries represent his childhood. This movie is magnificent in the way it carries itself.

(The trailer is in Spanish)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs_j7y_QyM8

Jaynes, Gerald D., “Little Rock Nine”, Britannica,  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Little-Rock-Nine

Movie Poster: https://www.criterion.com/films/175-wild-strawberries

Wild Strawberries (1959), https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wild-strawberries

Sexton, Nathaniel., “Dreams, Remembering, and Anti-Symbolism in Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries.”, Indiana University Cinema, October 12, 2017., https://blogs.iu.edu/aplaceforfilm/2017/10/12/dreams-remembering-and-anti-symbolism-in-ingmar-bergmans-wild-strawberries/

Malcolm, Derek., “Ingmar Bergman: Wild Strawberries”, June 10, 1999., https://www.evernote.com/pub/edwardoneill/wildstrawberriesdossier#st=p&n=379fc116-f20a-46a5-8002-efddca078cc3